Delivery unit and delivery system

ABSTRACT

The present invention is to issue a quality certificate on which a graphic image representing the quality in chronological order of a cooling environment in a container accommodating articles therein is printed on a recording medium, upon arrival of the articles at a delivery destination. A delivery unit 15 is mounted on a vehicle 21 and is used to deliver the articles accommodated in a storage container 33 filled with a cooling gas. The delivery unit 15 includes a thermometer Se1 that measures a temperature in the storage container 33, a memory unit 53 that memorizes therein data of the measured temperature in chronological order, a quality-data generation unit 55a that generates quality data of articles based on temperature data acquired from the memory unit 53, a print-data editing unit 55h that edits print data relating to a quality certificate including a graphic image representing the quality in chronological order of the cooling environment in the storage container 33 accommodating articles therein during delivery based on a serial number of the article and the quality data, and a printer 27 that prints print data relating to the quality certificate on a recording medium.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of InternationalApplication PCT/JP2018/023834 filed on Jun. 22, 2018, and designatedU.S., which claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No.2018-052576 filed Mar. 20, 2018, the entire contents of both of whichare incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present invention relates to a delivery unit that is mounted on avehicle and is used at the time of accommodating articles in a containerfilled with a cooling gas and delivering the articles, and a deliverysystem.

BACKGROUND

Conventionally, when fresh food is delivered to a distance, the freshfood is accommodated in a refrigerated car and delivered. Further, whenpharmaceutical products are delivered to a distance, a technique ofaccommodating the pharmaceutical products and a refrigerant together ina cooler box and delivering the pharmaceutical products is known.

For example, the following Patent Literatures are known as a techniqueof delivering articles in a cooled condition.

Patent Literature 1 has an object to provide a temperature managementsystem of deliveries in which a predetermined concerned personnel canascertain the history of temperature data of a freight room of adelivery vehicle in a distribution process reliably and easily, and canperform accurate management while suppressing communication costs.Patent Literature 1 discloses a temperature management system ofdeliveries including a temperature sensor that wirelessly transmitsdetected temperature data, a GPS receiver, and a control deviceinstalled in the delivery vehicle. In the temperature management system,temperature data is detected by the temperature sensor arranged in thefreight room at a set predetermined detection interval and thetemperature data is memorized in the temperature sensor, and temporalpositional data received by the GPS receiver is memorized in the controldevice. At a data access point in the distribution process, it is setsuch that the temperature data for a predetermined period memorized inthe temperature sensor is wirelessly transmitted to the control device,so that the wirelessly transmitted temperature data and the temporalpositional data in the predetermined period memorized in the controldevice are input to a server through a communication network andmemorized therein, and a predetermined terminal device can access to theserver through the communication network.

Patent Literature 2 has an object to provide a food preserving methodand a food preserving device that can hold fresh food, particularly,food having a fast deterioration rate of freshness quality in a freshstate for a long time after harvest as compared with a conventionalpreserving method, without any change of color, change of properties,and damaging the taste. Patent Literature 2 discloses a food preservingmethod for preserving vegetable fresh food and animal fresh food inwhich air in a food storage container is replaced by a nitrogen gas sothat oxygen in an ambient gas in the container becomes less than 1% byvolume in order to maintain the inside of the food storage container ina cold misty condition of low temperature and high humidity, and whenthe fresh food is taken into or out from the food storage container, anozone gas is added intermittently into the food storage container, sothat the ambient temperature is maintained in a range of 1° C. to 10° C.and the relative humidity is maintained at 90% or higher.

Patent Literature 3 discloses a method of supplying liquefied oxygen tomedical institutions such as a hospital by using an oxygentransportation vehicle including an in-vehicle tank that can hold thestate of the liquefied oxygen. The method is a supply method ofliquefied oxygen for medical use characterized in that the liquefiedoxygen, after being transferred from the in-vehicle tank and filled in ahospital tank installed in a medical institution, is partly taken outand vaporized, the quality of the vaporized gaseous oxygen is thenchecked on the basis of pharmacopoeia oxygen, and after confirmationthat the vaporized gaseous oxygen satisfies the standard of thepharmacopoeia oxygen, the transfer and filling of the liquefied oxygenare complete.

Patent Literature 3 also discloses that a certificate certifying thatthe liquefied oxygen in the in-vehicle tank and the liquefied oxygen inthe hospital tank are not listed as the pharmacopoeia liquefied oxygenis submitted to the medical institutions.

A certificate certifying that the LO in the in-vehicle tank and the LOin the hospital tank are not listed as the pharmacopoeia liquefiedoxygen can be submitted also to hospitals.

CITATION LIST Patent Literatures

Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-7097

Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.2003-116460

Patent Literature 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.2004-125168

SUMMARY Technical Problem

As described above, to maintain articles in a temperature range capableof guaranteeing the quality thereof, the inside of a container needs tobe cooled. When a vehicle arrives at a delivery destination, thecontainer accommodating the articles therein has been simply handed overto the delivery destination.

However, when the articles arrive at the delivery destination, a printedquality certificate indicating the quality of a cooling environment inthe container accommodating articles therein during delivery cannot behanded over to the delivery destination. Therefore, there is a problemin that at the delivery destination, it is not possible to confirmimmediately the quality in chronological order of the coolingenvironment in the container, upon reception of the container thataccommodates the articles therein.

In Patent Literature 1, it is required to prepare the terminal device,acquire temperature data to the terminal device by accessing the servervia the communication network, and present the temperature data on amonitor. However, in Patent Literature 1, the terminal device needs tobe prepared when the delivery vehicle arrives at the deliverydestination.

In Patent Literature 2, air in the container is replaced by a nitrogengas to cool fresh food in the food storage container. However, there isa problem in that the quality in chronological order of a coolingenvironment in the container cannot be confirmed immediately at thesite, when the delivery vehicle arrives at a delivery destination.

In Patent Literature 3, there is a problem in that the quality inchronological order of a cooling environment in the in-vehicle tankcannot be confirmed immediately at the site, although a certificatecertifying that the liquefied oxygen in the in-vehicle tank is notlisted as the pharmacopoeia liquefied oxygen can be submitted to themedical institutions.

One embodiment of the present invention has been achieved in view of theproblems described above, and an object of the present invention is toissue a quality certificate by printing a graphic image representing thequality in chronological order of a cooling environment in a containeraccommodating articles therein on a recording medium, when the articlesarrive at a delivery destination.

Solution to Problem

In order to solve the above problems, the invention of claim 1 providesa delivery unit mounted on a vehicle and is used when articles areaccommodated in a container filled with a cooling gas and delivered, thedelivery unit comprising: a temperature measurement unit that measures atemperature in the container; a memory unit that memorizes therein themeasured temperature data in chronological order; a quality-datageneration unit that generates quality data of the articles based ontemperature data acquired from the memory unit; a print-data editingunit that edits print data relating to a quality certificate including agraphic image representing quality in chronological order of a coolingenvironment in a container that accommodates articles therein duringdelivery, based on a serial number of the article and the quality data;and a printing unit that prints print data relating to the qualitycertificate on a recording medium.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, it is possible to issue a qualitycertificate by printing a graphic image representing the quality inchronological order of a cooling environment in a containeraccommodating articles therein on a recording medium, when the articlesarrive at a delivery destination. Accordingly, at the deliverydestination, the quality in chronological order of the coolingenvironment in the container can be confirmed immediately at the site,upon reception of the container that accommodates the articles therein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a delivery system according to a firstembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a vehicle mounted with a delivery unitaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram illustrating respective units provided in thedelivery unit according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention, and FIG. 3B is a functional block diagram illustratingfunctions of the respective units of the delivery unit according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a flow in transport of articlesaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation at the time ofactivating the delivery unit according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating movement of information andarticles between a manufacturer and a warehouse according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 7(a) to (d) are diagrams illustrating association in ashipping-information association file according to the first embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram illustrating movement of information andarticles between the warehouse and a delivery destination according tothe first embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 9(a) to (e) are diagrams illustrating association in ashipping-information association file according to the first embodimentof the present invention.

FIGS. 10(a) to (c) are diagrams illustrating association in anadministration-information association file according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11A is a sequence diagram of a status monitoring process by thedelivery system according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention, and FIG. 11B is a sequence diagram of a quality certificateprinting sequence performed by the delivery system according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12A is a diagram illustrating an example of a menu screen displayedon a PC in the delivery unit according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention, and FIG. 12B is a diagram illustrating amonitoring/status display screen displayed on the PC in the deliveryunit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13A is a diagram illustrating a medical-institution operationscreen according to the first embodiment of the present invention, andFIG. 13B is a diagram illustrating association in a calendar fileaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a print-range designation screen to bedisplayed on the PC in the delivery unit according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 15(a) to (d) are diagrams illustrating respective parts in aquality certificate output from a printer of the delivery unit accordingto the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating association of respective filesaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a print-data editing processperformed by the PC in the delivery unit according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 18(a) to (c) are diagrams illustrating association in a productdetailed-information file according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 19(a) to (e) are diagrams illustrating respective parts in aquality certificate printed by a printer of a delivery unit according toa second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating association of respective filesaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a print-data editing processperformed by a PC in the delivery unit according to the secondembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 22(a) to (f) are diagrams illustrating respective parts in aquality certificate printed by a printer of a delivery unit according toa third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating association of respective filesaccording to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating a print-data editing processperformed by a PC in the delivery unit according to the third embodimentof the present invention.

FIGS. 25(a) to (g) are diagrams illustrating respective parts in aquality certificate printed by a printer of a delivery unit according toa fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating association of respective filesaccording to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating a print-data editing processperformed by a PC in the delivery unit according to the fourthembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 28(a) to (h) are diagrams illustrating respective parts in aquality certificate printed by a printer of a delivery unit according toa fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating association of respective filesaccording to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart illustrating a print-data editing processperformed by a PC in the delivery unit according to the fifth embodimentof the present invention.

FIGS. 31(a) to (i) are diagrams illustrating respective parts in aquality certificate printed by a printer of a delivery unit according toa sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating association of respective filesaccording to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart illustrating a print-data editing processperformed by a PC in the delivery unit according to the sixth embodimentof the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is described below in detail based on embodimentsillustrated in the drawings.

The present invention has a configuration described below in order toissue a quality certificate by printing a graphic image representing thequality in chronological order of a cooling environment in a containeraccommodating articles therein on a recording medium, when the articlesarrive at a delivery destination.

That is, a delivery unit according to the present invention is adelivery unit mounted on a vehicle and is used when articles areaccommodated in a container filled with a cooling gas and delivered. Thedelivery unit is characterized by including a temperature measurementunit that measures a temperature in the container, a memory unit thatmemorizes therein measured temperature data in chronological order, aquality-data generation unit that generates quality data of articlesbased on the temperature data acquired from the memory unit, aprint-data editing unit that edits print data relating to a qualitycertificate including a graphic image representing the quality inchronological order of a cooling environment in the containeraccommodating articles therein during delivery, based on a serial numberof the article and the quality data, and a printing unit that prints theprint data relating to the quality certificate on a recording medium.

With the above configuration, it is possible to issue a qualitycertificate by printing a graphic image representing the quality inchronological order of a cooling environment in a containeraccommodating articles therein on a recording medium, when the articlesarrive at a delivery destination. Accordingly, at the deliverydestination, the quality in chronological order of the coolingenvironment in the container can be confirmed immediately at the site,upon reception of the container that accommodates the articles therein.

Characteristics of the present invention described above are explainedin detail with reference to the drawings mentioned below. Note that,unless otherwise specified, constituent elements, types, combinations,shapes, and relative arrangements thereof described in the followingembodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present inventionsolely thereto and are only explanatory examples.

Characteristics of the present invention described above are explainedbelow in detail with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment Delivery System

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a delivery system according to a firstembodiment of the present invention.

A delivery system 1 is configured by a client terminal (a manufacturer)3, a client terminal (a delivery destination) 5, networks N1, N2, andN3, an order-acceptance management device 7, an order-acceptancemanagement server 11, a delivery unit 15, a logistics management server17, and the like. In the present embodiment, although there are pluralclient terminals 3, client terminals (delivery destinations) 5, deliveryunits 15, and logistics management servers 17, these elements may beeach a single unit. Further, although the networks are separate networksof N1, N2, and N3, the networks may be configured by the same network.

In the delivery system 1, the client terminal 3 (generally, a PC)installed, for example, in a drug manufacturer, and the client terminal5 (generally, a PC) installed in medical institutions, for example,hospitals and doctor's offices are connected to the order-acceptancemanagement device 7 via the network N1.

The client terminal 5 includes a fifth transmission unit 5 a and a thirdreception unit 5 b. The fifth transmission unit 5 a transmits a qualitydata request to the order-acceptance management server 11 as needed. Thethird reception unit 5 b receives the quality data from the server.

The order-acceptance management device 7 is configured to include afront end server 9, the order-acceptance management server 11, and adatabase DB 13.

The front end server 9 has a function of receiving data from the clientterminal 3 via the network N1, to manage a direct access service to theclient terminal 3 and a change of a display format.

The order-acceptance management server 11 has a function of generatingrespective pieces of order-acceptance data based on usage date datareceived from the respective client terminals 3 to transmit theorder-acceptance data to the order-acceptance management server 11 of adeliverer, and a function of generating a personal calendar screencorresponding to each client to transmit the screen to the clientterminal 3.

The order-acceptance management server 11 also receives data from thedelivery unit 15 via the network N2 to manage the state (status) of eachdelivery unit 15.

Further, the order-acceptance management server 11 receives data fromthe logistics management server 17 via the network N3 to manage thestate (status) of each logistics management server 17.

The order-acceptance management server 11 includes therein a ROM (ReadOnly Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a CPU (Central ProcessingUnit), and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), reads an operating system OS fromthe HDD and loads the OS on the RAM to activate the OS, and reads anapplication program from the HDD to perform various processes undercontrol of the OS.

The order-acceptance management server 11 includes a second receptionunit 11 b, the database DB 13, a third transmission unit 11 a, and afourth transmission unit 11 c. The second reception unit 11 b receivesquality data from the delivery unit 15. The database DB 13 accumulatestherein the quality data received from the delivery unit 15. The thirdtransmission unit 11 a transmits the quality data acquired from thedatabase DB 13 to the delivery unit 15, upon reception of a quality datarequest from the delivery unit 15. The fourth transmission unit 11 ctransmits the quality data acquired from the database DB 13 to theclient terminal 5, upon reception of a quality data request from theclient terminal 5.

The logistics management server 17 is arranged for each warehouse thatstores respective articles therein or for each warehouse that stores aplurality of articles therein, and when there is a request from thelogistics management server 17, generates pieces of delivery informationassociated with respective articles and the delivery unit 15 to transmitthe delivery information to the order-acceptance management server 11,in order to execute control for shipping the relevant articles to theclient.

The delivery unit 15 includes a storage container mounted thereon thataccommodates specific pharmaceutical products required to be maintainedin a predetermined low-temperature condition, and has a function oftransmitting the temperature data to the order-acceptance managementserver 11 via the network N2. Therefore, after having used fordelivering the pharmaceutical products to the client, the delivery unit15 that has stored the pharmaceutical products therein needs to becollected.

Vehicle

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a vehicle mounted with the deliveryunit 15 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

A vehicle 21 has a delivery unit 15 mounted on a loading platformthereof. Further, the delivery unit 15 includes a wireless router 23, apersonal computer PC 25, a printer 27, a battery 43, a GPS receiver 31,and a storage container 33.

In the storage container 33, a plurality of sensors Se1 to Se5 areaccommodated or attached thereto, and a part of a tag string fastened toeach article accommodated in the storage container 33 is pulled outside,and a tag 35 is fastened at the end thereof.

Delivery Unit

FIG. 3(a) is a block diagram illustrating respective units provided inthe delivery unit 15 according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention.

The delivery unit 15 includes the wireless router 23, the personalcomputer PC 25, the printer 27, the GPS receiver 31, the storagecontainer 33, a bar-code reader 37, a data logger 39, a charger 41, thebattery 43, and a DC/DC converter 45.

The wireless router 23 accesses a plurality of 3G/4G lines arranged onthe road where the vehicle 21 runs, and connects to the personalcomputer PC 25, to connect the personal computer PC 25 and theorder-acceptance management server 11 with each other.

The personal computer PC 25 includes a CPU 25 a, a ROM 25 b, a RAM 25 c,an operation display unit 25 d, and a communication unit 25 e.

The CPU 25 a controls the entire operation of the delivery unit 15 byusing the RAM 25 c as a work memory, according to a program memorizedbeforehand in the ROM 25 b.

The ROM 25 b is a read-only non-volatile memory medium, and storestherein firmware and various kinds of data.

The RAM 25 c is a volatile memory medium capable of high-speed readingand writing of information and can be used as a work memory.

The operation display unit 25 d includes key buttons and a screen fordisplaying a menu for performing various setting and mode selection, andreceives various kinds of operation requests from a user. Thecommunication unit 25 e has a USB interface, and transmits and receivesdata to and from the order-acceptance management server 11 via thewireless router 23 and the network N2.

The printer 27 prints a quality certificate 27 a on a recording mediumsuch as a sheet according to a printing job received from the personalcomputer PC 25.

The GPS receiver 31 receives a radio signal from a plurality of GPSsatellites via an antenna ANT2 to calculate positional information ofthe delivery unit 15, and transmits the calculated positionalinformation to the order-acceptance management server 11 via an antennaANT3 and the network N2. In FIG. 3, the GPS receiver 31 is not connectedto the personal computer PC 25. However, the GPS receiver 31 may beconnected to the personal computer PC 25 to output the positionalinformation calculated by the GPS receiver 31 to the personal computerPC 25.

The storage container 33 can accommodate therein a plurality ofarticles, and includes various kinds of sensors Se1 to Se5 therein orattached to the outside thereof.

The bar-code reader 37 reads a bar-code and outputs data to the personalcomputer PC 25.

The data logger 39 collects measurement data measured by each sensor,stores various kinds of data therein, and outputs the stored variouskinds of data to the personal computer PC 25 according to the requestfor the readout of the personal computer PC 25.

The charger 41 connects, for example, to an AC power supply provided inthe vehicle 21 or an AC power supply provided in a delivery center asneeded, to convert AC power supplied from the AC power supply to DCpower, and connects the DC power to each electrode of the battery 43 tocharge the battery 43.

When the charger 41 is connected to each electrode (ON), the battery 43is charged with the DC power supplied from the charger 41, and whenconnection between the charger 41 and the respective electrodes isreleased (OFF), the battery 43 discharges and supplies the DC power tothe DC/DC converter 45.

The DC/DC converter 45 converts the DC power supply supplied from thebattery 43 to DC power of, for example, four kinds of voltage levels(5V, 12V, 15V, and 24V) and supplies the DC power to each unit in thedelivery unit 15.

A thermometer Se1 is provided in the storage container 33 to measure anambient temperature in the storage container 33, and outputs temperaturedata to the data logger 39.

A liquid level indicator Se2 is provided in the storage container 33 tomeasure a liquid level of a liquefied cooling gas, and outputs liquidlevel data to the data logger 39.

A vibration indicator Se3 is provided outside the storage container 33to measure vibrations applied to the storage container 33, and outputsvibration data to the data logger 39.

An opening/closing sensor Se4 is provided in the storage container 33 todetect whether a lid of the storage container 33 is in an opened stateor a closed state and outputs opening/closing data to the data logger39.

A hygrometer Se5 is provided in the storage container 33 to measure anambient humidity in the storage container 33, and outputs humidity datato the data logger 39.

A voltage detection sensor Se6 measures a voltage of DC power suppliedfrom the battery 43 to the DC/DC converter 45, and outputs voltage datato the data logger 39.

A voltage detection sensor Se7 measures a voltage of DC power suppliedfrom the charger 41 to the battery 43, and outputs voltage data to thedata logger 39.

Functional Block Diagram of Delivery Unit

FIG. 3(b) is a functional block diagram illustrating functions ofrespective units of the delivery unit 15 according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

In the personal computer PC 25, the CPU 25 a reads the operating systemOS from the ROM 25 b and loads the OS on the RAM 25 c to activate theOS, and reads a program (programs illustrated in various flowchartsdescribed later) from the ROM 25 b to perform various processes undercontrol of the OS, thereby realizing a control unit 55 illustrated inFIG. 3(b).

A temperature measurement unit 51 s 1 is configured by the thermometerSe1 to measure a temperature in the storage container 33 and outputsmeasured data to a memory unit 53.

A liquid-level measurement unit 51 s 2 is configured by the liquid levelindicator Se2 to measure a level of a cooling gas filled in the storagecontainer 33 and outputs measured data to the memory unit 53.

A vibration measurement unit 51 s 3 is configured by the vibrationindicator Se3 to measure vibrations applied to the storage container 33from a road surface via the vehicle and outputs measured data to thememory unit 53.

An opening/closing measurement unit 51 s 4 is configured by theopening/closing sensor Se4 to measure an opened/closed state of the lidprovided in the storage container 33 and outputs the measured state tothe memory unit 53.

A humidity measurement unit 51 s 5 is configured by the hygrometer Se5to measure a humidity in the storage container 33 and outputs measureddata to the memory unit 53.

A first voltage measurement unit 51 s 6 is configured by the voltagedetection sensor Se6 to measure a voltage of DC power supplied from thebattery 43 to the DC/DC converter 45, and outputs measured data to thememory unit 53.

A second voltage measurement unit 51 s 7 is configured by the voltagedetection sensor Se7 to measure a voltage of DC power supplied from thecharger 41 to the battery 43, and outputs measured data to the memoryunit 53.

The memory unit 53 is configured by the data logger 39, and memorizestherein temperature data measured by the respective measurement units inchronological order. A hard disk HDD may be used as the memory unit 53instead of the data logger 39.

The control unit 55 includes a quality-data generation unit 55 a, aprinting unit 55 b, a first transmission unit 55 c, a secondtransmission unit 55 d, a first reception unit 55 e, a display inputunit 55 f, and a print-range acquisition unit 55 g. The control unit 55controls each unit provided therein.

The quality-data generation unit 55 a generates quality data of articlesbased on the temperature data acquired from the memory unit 53.

The quality-data generation unit 55 a generates quality data of articlesbased on the temperature data acquired from the memory unit 53corresponding to a printing date-and-time range acquired from theprint-range acquisition unit 55 g.

The print-range acquisition unit 55 g acquires the printingdate-and-time range represented by a printing start date-and-time to aprinting end date-and-time displayed on the display input unit 55 f.

A print-data editing unit 55 h edits print data relating to a qualitycertificate including a graphic image representing the quality inchronological order of a cooling environment in the storage container 33accommodating articles therein during delivery, based on a serial numberof the article and quality data.

The printing unit 55 b prints print data relating to a qualitycertificate on a recording medium.

The display input unit 55 f displays a printing start date-and-timecolumn and a printing end date-and-time column to prompt input of aprinting date-and-time range associated with the temperature data to beprinted on the quality certificate.

The first transmission unit 55 c transmits the quality data generated bythe quality-data generation unit 55 a to the order-acceptance managementserver 11. The second transmission unit 55 d transmits a quality datarequest to the order-acceptance management server 11 as needed. Thefirst reception unit 55 e receives the quality data from theorder-acceptance management server 11.

Transport of Articles

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a flow in transport of articlesaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates that articles manufactured in a manufacturer P1 aredelivered to a delivery destination P5 via a warehouse P31 and awarehouse P3 n.

In the manufacturer P1, at step S105, articles are shipped, and at stepS110, the articles are loaded on a vehicle to start delivery to thewarehouse P31.

In the warehouse P31, when the vehicle loaded with the articles arrivesat the warehouse P31 at step S115, the articles are placed undermanagement of the warehouse P31 upon arrival thereof to the warehouse atstep S120. At this time, the logistics management server 17 reads thebar-code from the tag 35 by using a bar-code reader arranged in thewarehouse to generate an arrival label.

At step S125, the articles are stocked in a predetermined place. At thistime, the bar-code of the delivery unit 15 is read and stored by usingthe bar-code reader arranged in the warehouse.

At step S130, when a stock delivery request is received from thewarehouse P3 n, the articles are delivered from the predetermined place.

At step S135, a lid of a first storage container 33 storing the articlestherein is opened, and a lid of a second storage container 33 fortransporting the articles from the first storage container 33 to thewarehouse P3 n is opened. The articles are then shifted from the firststorage container 33 to the second storage container 33, and therespective lids of the first storage container 33 and the second storagecontainer 33 are closed. At this time, the opening/closing sensor Se4 ofthe delivery unit 15 outputs opening/closing data to the data logger 39according to the opened state and closed state of the lid.

At step S140, inter-warehouse delivery of articles from the warehouseP31 to the warehouse P3 n is performed.

In the warehouse P3 n, when the vehicle loaded with the articles arrivesat the warehouse P3 n at step S145, the articles are received at stepS150.

At step S155, the articles are stocked.

At step S160, the lid of the second storage container 33 storing thearticles therein is opened, and a lid of a third storage container 33for transporting the articles from the second storage container 33 tothe delivery destination P5 is opened. The articles are moved (shipped)from the second storage container 33 to the third storage container 33,and the respective lids of the second storage container 33 and the thirdstorage container 33 are closed. At this time, the opening/closingsensor Se4 of the delivery unit 15 outputs opening/closing data to thedata logger 39 according to the opened state or the closed state of thelid.

At step S165, upon reception of an order request from the deliverydestination P5, the articles are delivered from the warehouse P3 n tothe delivery destination P5.

At the delivery destination P5, at step S170, when the vehicle loadedwith the articles arrives at the delivery destination P5, delivery iscompleted. At this time, by pressing a ‘STATUS OPERATION’ button B12displayed on a monitor screen (FIG. 12(b)) of the personal computer PC25 in the delivery unit 15, delivery is completed.

At step S175, the lid of the third storage container 33 is opened totake out the articles from the third storage container 33 and thearticles are administered to patients.

Operation at Time of Activating Delivery Unit

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation at the time ofactivating the delivery unit according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

The sequence diagram illustrated in FIG. 5 illustrates an operation tobe performed at the time of activation, when the delivery unit 15 is atthe manufacturer's site.

In the delivery unit 15, at step S205, the PC 25 reads a bar-code froman operation start bar-code printed on the tag 35 by using the bar-codereader 37, and inputs the bar-code to the PC 25.

At step S210, the PC 25 reads a bar-code indicating a lot number, anexpiration date, and a serial number of the articles printed on theproduct shipped from the manufacturer by using the bar-code reader 37,and inputs the bar-code to the PC 25.

When there are products shipped from another manufacturer, similaroperation to that at step S210 is performed at step S215.

At step S220, the PC 25 transmits the lot number, the expiration date,and the serial number of each article to the order-acceptance managementserver 11 via the wireless router 23.

In the order-acceptance management server 11, at step S225, the datareceived from the delivery unit 15 is memorized in the database DB 13.

Movement of Information and Articles Between Manufacturer and Warehouse

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating movement of information andarticles between the manufacturer and the warehouse according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention.

In the warehouse P3, at step S305, the logistics management server 17performs registration to an order screen, as an order operation. At thistime, the logistics management server 17 transmits order information tothe delivery unit 15.

In the manufacturer P1, as a shipping operation, a required number ofarticles are picked up from a plurality of articles stocked in thewarehouse by referring to a slip, and stores the articles in the storagecontainer 33 of the delivery unit 15. At step S310, the delivery unit 15reads the bar-code indicating the lot number, the expiration date, andthe serial number of the articles, inputs the bar-code to the PC 25, andtransmits the bar-code to the order-acceptance management server 11 viathe wireless router 23.

In the warehouse P31, at step S315, the order-acceptance managementserver 11 generates a shipping-information association file byassociating the pieces of shipping information (a lot number, anexpiration date, a serial number, a tag information, and the like) witheach other received from the delivery unit 15 (FIG. 7). Theorder-acceptance management server 11 then transmits a monitoring startinstruction to the delivery unit 15.

In the manufacturer P1, at step S320, upon reception of the monitoringstart instruction from the order-acceptance management server 11, thedelivery unit 15 starts a monitoring operation. That is, the PC 25receives measurement data from the sensors Se1 to Se7 recorded in theinternal RAM of the data logger 39, and records the measurement data inthe internal RAM of the PC 25. The recorded data is transmitted to theorder-acceptance management server 11 via the network N2.

After Step S320, the process is under a temperature monitoringcondition.

At step S325, the delivery unit 15 loaded on the vehicle starts deliveryof articles from the manufacturer P1 to the warehouse P3.

In the warehouse P3, at step S330, the delivery unit 15 loaded with thearticles arrives at the warehouse.

At step S335, the logistics management server 17 performs registrationto a purchase screen as a warehousing operation.

At step S340, the delivery unit 15 transmits warehousing and storinginformation to the order-acceptance management server 11.

At step S345, the order-acceptance management server 11 performs a stockrecording process corresponding to the received warehousing and storinginformation.

Shipping-Information Association File

FIGS. 7(a) to (d) are diagrams illustrating a file generated by beingassociated with shipping information according to the first embodimentof the present invention.

In the shipping information (FIG. 7(a)) transmitted from the deliveryunit 15 to the order-acceptance management server 11, a product code, aserial number, a lot number, an expiration date, a tag code, a unitnumber, a unit type, a date and time, and a work status are included,and these pieces of data are memorized in the database DB 13.

The order-acceptance management server 11 extracts the lot number, theexpiration date, the tag code, the unit number, and the product codefrom the shipping information (FIG. 7(a)) by using the serial number asa key, generates a management file (FIG. 7(b)) in which these pieces ofdata are associated with each other, and memorizes the management filein the database DB 13.

The order-acceptance management server 11 extracts the status,management number, and the unit type from the shipping information (FIG.7(a)) by using the unit number as a key, generates a unit-numbermanagement file (FIG. 7(c)) in which these pieces of data are associatedwith each other, and memorizes the unit-number management file in thedatabase DB 13.

The order-acceptance management server 11 extracts the unit number andthe work status from the shipping information (FIG. 7(a)), by using theproduct code, the date and time, the lot number, the expiration date,and the serial number as a key, generates a trace file (FIG. 7(d)) inwhich these pieces of data are associated with each other, and memorizesthe trace file in the database DB 13.

Movement of Information and Articles Between Warehouse and DeliveryDestination

FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram illustrating movement of information andarticles between the warehouse and the delivery destination according tothe first embodiment of the present invention.

At the delivery destination P5, at step S405, the client terminal 5performs registration to a personal calendar screen as an orderoperation and generates order information. The client terminal 5transmits the order information to the order-acceptance managementserver 11.

In the warehouse P3, the order-acceptance management server 11 havingreceived the order information from the client terminal 5 generatesorder-acceptance information based on the received order information atstep S410, and registers the order-acceptance information in thedatabase DB 13. The order-acceptance management server 11 transmits theorder-acceptance information to the logistics management server 17.

The logistics management server 17 having received the order-acceptanceinformation from the order-acceptance management server 11 performsstock extraction based on a special-temperature shipping screen at stepS415, to generate shipping information. The logistics management server17 then transmits the shipping information to the delivery unit 15.

The delivery unit 15 having received the shipping information from thelogistics management server 17 reads the bar-code indicating the lotnumber, the expiration date, and the serial number of the articles andinputs the information to the PC 25 at step S420, and transmits theinformation to the order-acceptance management server 11 via thewireless router 23.

At step S425, the order-acceptance management server 11 associates thepieces of shipping information (a lot number, an expiration date, aserial number, a tag information, and the like) with each other receivedfrom the delivery unit 15, to generate a management file, a unit-No.management file, a trace file, and a customer administration-historyfile associated with the shipping information (FIG. 9). Theorder-acceptance management server 11 then transmits a monitoring startinstruction to the delivery unit 15.

In the warehouse P3, at step S430, upon reception of the monitoringstart instruction from the order-acceptance management server 11, thedelivery unit 15 starts a monitoring operation. That is, the PC 25receives measurement data from the sensors Se1 to Se7 recorded on theinternal RAM of the data logger 39, and records the measurement data inthe internal RAM of the PC 25. The recorded data is transmitted to theorder-acceptance management server 11 via the network N2.

At step S435, the delivery unit 15 mounted on the vehicle startsdelivery of articles from the warehouse P3 n to the delivery destinationP5.

When the articles arrive at the delivery destination P5 from thewarehouse P3 n, an ‘EXECUTE’ button B11 on a monitoring/status screen(FIG. 12(b)) is pressed and the delivery destination is input to theplace, the delivery is completed. At step S440, the PC 25 in thedelivery unit 15 displays a menu screen including a ‘DISPLAYMONITORING/STATUS’ button B9 (FIG. 12(a)).

At step S445, when the ‘DISPLAY MONITORING/STATUS’ button B9 is pressedon the screen of the PC 25, a status screen including a ‘PRINTTEMPERATURE TRACE TABLE’ button B17 is displayed (FIG. 12(b)). When the‘PRINT TEMPERATURE TRACE TABLE’ button B17 is pressed, a print-rangedesignation screen including a ‘PRINT’ button B21 is displayed (FIG.14), and further, when the ‘PRINT’ button B21 is pressed, a qualitycertificate is printed (FIG. 15).

After a pharmaceutical product as an example of the article isadministered, at step S450, the PC 25 displays a menu screen includingan ‘OPERATION IN MEDICAL INSTITUTION’ button B7 (FIG. 12(a)). When the‘OPERATION IN MEDICAL INSTITUTION’ button B7 is pressed on the screen ofthe PC 25, a medical-institution operation screen 101 (FIG. 13) isdisplayed to generate administration information. The PC 25 in thedelivery unit 15 transmits the administration information to theorder-acceptance management server 11.

In the warehouse P3 n, at step S455, the order-acceptance managementserver 11 having received the administration information from thedelivery unit 15 reflects the administration information on the tracefile (FIG. 10) and the customer administration-history file (FIG. 10).The order-acceptance management server 11 generates a collectioninstruction of the delivery unit 15 and transmits the instruction to thePC 25 in the delivery unit 15.

At the delivery destination P5, at step S460, the PC 25 in the deliveryunit 15 displays the collection instruction of the delivery unit 15 onthe screen. In response thereto, the delivery unit 15 is mounted on thevehicle 21, to deliver the delivery unit 15 to the warehouse P3 n.

In the warehouse P3 n, at step S465, the delivery unit 15 is stored at apredetermined position in the warehouse P3 n.

Shipping-Information Association File

FIGS. 9(a) to (e) are diagrams illustrating association in ashipping-information association file according to the first embodimentof the present invention.

The shipping information (FIG. 9(a)) transmitted from the delivery unit15 to the order-acceptance management server 11 includes a product code,a serial number, a lot number, an expiration date, a tag code, a unitnumber, a unit type, a date and time, a work status, a customer, and adelivery date, and these pieces of data are memorized in the database DB13.

The order-acceptance management server 11 extracts the lot number, theexpiration date, the tag code, the unit number, and the product codefrom the shipping information (FIG. 9(a)) by using the serial number asa key, generates a management file (FIG. 9(b)) in which these pieces ofdata are associated with each other, and memorizes the management filein the database DB 13.

The order-acceptance management server 11 extracts the status, themanagement No., and the unit type from the shipping information (FIG.9(a)) by using the unit number as a key, updates the unit numbermanagement file (FIG. 7(c)) in which these pieces of data are associatedwith each other, and memorizes the management file in the database DB13.

The order-acceptance management server 11 extracts the unit number andthe work status from the shipping information (FIG. 9(a)) by using theproduct code, the date and time, the lot number, the expiration date,and the serial number as a key, generates a trace file (FIG. 9(d)) inwhich these pieces of data are associated with each other, and memorizesthe trace file in the database DB 13.

The order-acceptance management server 11 extracts the customer and thedelivery date from the shipping information (FIG. 9(a)) by using theserial number as a key, and adds these pieces of data to the customeradministration-history file, to update the customeradministration-history file (FIG. 9(e)), in which the customer, theproduct code, the delivery date, the lot number, the expiration date,the serial number, the tag code, the unit number, a patient code, and adrug-extracted date-and-time are memorized.

Administration-Information Association File

FIGS. 10(a) to (c) are diagrams illustrating association in anadministration-information association file according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

Administration information (FIG. 10(a)) transmitted from the deliveryunit 15 to the order-acceptance management server 11 includes acustomer, a product code, a delivery date, a lot number, an expirationdate, a serial number, a patient code, a drug-extracted date-and-time, aunit number, a date and time, and a work status, and these pieces ofdata are memorized in the database DB 13.

The order-acceptance management server 11 extracts the customer, theproduct code, the delivery date, the lot number, the expiration date,the serial number, the patient code, and the drug-extracteddate-and-time from the administration information (FIG. 10(a)) by usingthe serial number as a key, updates the customer administration-historyfile (FIG. 9(e)) in which these pieces of data are associated with eachother, and memorizes the updated customer administration-history file inthe database DB 13.

The order-acceptance management server 11 extracts the unit number, thedate and time, and the work status from the administration file (FIG.10(a)) by using the serial number as a key, generates a trace file (FIG.10(c)) in which these pieces of data are associated with each other, andmemorizes the trace file in the database DB 13.

Status Monitoring Process

FIG. 11(a) is a sequence diagram of a status monitoring process by thedelivery system 1 according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention.

At step S505, the PC 25 in the delivery unit 15 performs a statusmonitoring process for monitoring status information representing aphase, a place, a sequence, and contents of the delivery unit togenerate status information, and transmits the status information to theorder-acceptance management server 11.

At step S510, the order-acceptance management server 11 generates astatus information screen by performing a status display process basedon the phase, the place, the sequence, and the contents of the deliveryunit included in the status information received from the delivery unit15, and transmits the status information screen to the client terminal 5at the delivery destination.

At step S515, when an abnormal state is included in the phase, theplace, the sequence, and the contents of the delivery unit included inthe status information received from the delivery unit 15, theorder-acceptance management server 11 generates a status-abnormalitynotification e-mail by performing a status-abnormality display process,and transmits the status-abnormality notification e-mail to the clientterminal 5 at the delivery destination.

The PC 25 in the delivery unit 15 transmits the status information tothe order-acceptance management server 11. The status information can bereferred to by the client terminal 5 at the delivery destination.Further, the e-mail notification is transmitted to the client terminal 5at the delivery destination.

Quality Certificate Printing Sequence

FIG. 11(b) is a sequence diagram of a quality certificate printingsequence performed by the delivery system 1 according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

At step S555, the first transmission unit 55 c of the delivery unit 15transmits quality data generated by performing a quality-data generationprocess to the order-acceptance management server 11.

At step S560, the second reception unit 11 b of the order-acceptancemanagement server 11 receives the quality data from the delivery unit15, and accumulates the quality data in the database DB 13 by performingan accumulation process.

At step S565, the second transmission unit 55 d of the delivery unit 15transmits a quality data request for requesting quality data to theorder-acceptance management server 11 by performing a quality datarequesting process as needed.

At step S570, upon reception of the quality data request from thedelivery unit 15, the third transmission unit 11 a of theorder-acceptance management server 11 transmits the quality dataacquired from the database DB 13 to the delivery unit 15 by performing aquality data transmission process.

At step S575, the first reception unit 55 e of the delivery unit 15receives the quality data from the order-acceptance management server 11and prints a quality certificate by performing a print-data editingprocess.

The fifth transmission unit 5 a of the client terminal 5 transmits aquality data request to the order-acceptance management server 11 byperforming the quality data requesting process as needed.

When the order-acceptance management server 11 receives a quality datarequest from the client terminal 5, the fourth transmission unit 11 c ofthe order-acceptance management server 11 transmits the quality dataacquired from the database DB 13 to the client terminal 5.

The third reception unit 5 b of the client terminal 5 receives thequality data from the order-acceptance management server 11, edits thequality data to create a graphic diagram by performing a quality-datadisplay process, and displays the graphic diagram on the operationdisplay UNIT 25 d.

Menu Screen

FIG. 12(a) is a diagram illustrating an example of a menu screendisplayed on the PC in the delivery unit according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 12(a), a ‘UNIT SETTING’ button B1, a‘MANUFACTURER SHIPPING OPERATION’ button B3, a ‘SHIPPING OPERATION’button B5, the ‘OPERATION IN MEDICAL-INSTITUTION’ button B7, and the‘DISPLAY MONITORING/STATUS’ button B9 are displayed on the PC 25 in thedelivery unit 15 as a menu screen 61.

Monitoring/Status Display Screen

FIG. 12(b) is a diagram illustrating a monitoring/status display screendisplayed on the PC in the delivery unit according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

In the PC 25, when the ‘DISPLAY MONITORING/STATUS’ button B9 illustratedin FIG. 12(a) is pressed, a monitoring/status display screen 63illustrated in FIG. 12(b) is displayed.

On the monitoring/status display screen 63, a unit No., a type, anupdate time, and a temperature in the storage container 33 (temperaturein a shipper) 63 b as monitoring information are displayed as unitinformation 63 a.

On the monitoring/status display screen 63, a phase, a place, asequence, and contents are displayed as a status operation, and the‘EXECUTE’ button B11 is also displayed.

Further, in a lower part of the monitoring/status display screen 63, a‘MONITORING DETAILS’ button B13, a ‘PRODUCT DETAILS’ button B15, a‘PRINT TEMPERATURE TRACE TABLE’ button B17, and an ‘INITIALIZEOPERATION’ button B19 are displayed.

Medical-Institution Operation Screen

FIG. 13(a) is a diagram illustrating a medical-institution operationscreen according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

A medical-institution operation screen 101 illustrated in FIG. 13(a) canbe displayed on the client terminal 5 at the delivery destination.

On the medical-institution operation screen 101, a product name, atemperature in the storage container 33 (a temperature in a shipper), apatient to be administered, a place to be used, a measurementdate-and-time, and the number of administrations are displayed asinformation representing a part of a calendar file and information 101 aof the delivery unit 15.

On the medical-institution operation screen 101, a tag code, adrug-extracted date-and-time, a patient code, a lot number, anexpiration date, and a serial number are displayed on a horizontal axis,as information 101 b representing a part of the customeradministration-history file acquired from the order-acceptancemanagement server 11, and a ‘SELECT’ button is displayed correspondingto each record.

Further, in a lower part of the medical-institution operation screen101, a ‘USE’ button B101, and a ‘CLOSE’ button B105 are displayed.

FIG. 13(b) is a diagram illustrating association in a calendar fileaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The shipping information transmitted from the delivery unit 15 to theorder-acceptance management server 11 includes a customer code and aproduct code as illustrated in FIG. 13(b), and these pieces of data arememorized in the database DB 13.

Meanwhile, a calendar schedule file includes a product code, a customercode, a patient code, the number of administrations, a plannedadministration date, a planned delivery date, a planned collection date,an administration sequence, a delivery sequence, and a collectionsequence, and these pieces of data are memorized in the database DB 13.

Further, the calendar file includes a date, event contents, a productcode, a customer code, a patient code, a sequence, a detailed sequence,and a quantity, and these pieces of data are memorized in the databaseDB 13.

The order-acceptance management server 11 extracts the product code, thecustomer code, the patient code, and the planned administration datefrom the calendar schedule file by using the customer code and theproduct code as a key, and extracts the quantity from the calendar fileby using the planned administration date as a key, and these pieces ofdata are displayed as the information 101 a on the medical-institutionoperation screen 101 (FIG. 13(a)).

Print-Range Designation Screen

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a print-range designation screen to bedisplayed on the PC in the delivery unit according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

When the ‘PRINT TEMPERATURE TRACE TABLE’ button B17 illustrated in FIG.12(b) is pressed, the print-range designation screen 65 illustrated inFIG. 14 is displayed.

On the print-range designation screen 65, a date-and-time box 65 a forinputting a start date-and-time, a date-and-time box 65 b for inputtingan end date-and-time, the ‘PRINT’ button B21, a ‘CLOSE’ button B23, andan ‘INITIALIZE OPERATION’ button B25 are displayed.

Quality Certificate

FIG. 15 are diagrams illustrating respective parts in a qualitycertificate output from the printer of the delivery unit according tothe first embodiment of the present invention.

When the ‘PRINT’ button B21 included in the print-range designationscreen 65 illustrated in FIG. 14 is pressed, a quality certificate 27 aillustrated in FIG. 15 is printed.

As illustrated in FIG. 15, in the quality certificate 27 a, a productcode (b) such as a lot number, an expiration date, and a serial number,a bar-code (c) such as a lot number, an expiration date, and a serialnumber, and a temperature graph (d) are arranged as an article code.

Association of Respective Files

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating association of respective filesaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The order-acceptance management server 11 acquires temperature data fromthe data logger 39 provided in the delivery unit 15, and adds the unitnumber and the date and time to the temperature data, to generate atemperature history file F1.

The order-acceptance management server 11 acquires status informationupdated by the PC 25 in the delivery unit 15, to generate a trace fileF3 in which the product code, the date and time, the serial number, theunit number, and the status are associated with each other, as statusinformation.

The order-acceptance management server 11 uses the unit number includedin the trace file F3 as a key, extracts temperature data from thetemperature history file F1 having the key, to generate a serialtemperature-history file F5, and memorizes the serialtemperature-history file F5 in the database DB 13.

Print-Data Editing Process

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a print-data editing processperformed by the PC in the delivery unit according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

At step S605, the PC 25 in the delivery unit 15 displays themonitoring/status display screen (FIG. 12(b)).

At step S610, the PC 25 determines whether a user has pressed the ‘PRINTTEMPERATURE TRACE TABLE’ button B17 (FIG. 12(b)). When determining thatthe user has pressed the ‘PRINT TEMPERATURE TRACE TABLE’ button B17, thePC 25 proceeds to Step S615, or when determining that the user has notpressed the ‘PRINT TEMPERATURE TRACE TABLE’ button B17, the PC 25returns to Step S610.

At step S615, the PC 25 displays the print-range designation screen 65(FIG. 14), acquires a designated range from the print-range designationscreen 65, and transmits the designated range to the order-acceptancemanagement server 11.

At this time, it is assumed that when the print-range designation screen65 (FIG. 14) is displayed, the user has input the start date-and-time inthe date-and-time box 65 a, input the end date-and-time in thedate-and-time box 65 b, and pushed the ‘PRINT’ button B21.

At step S620, the PC 25 edits a detailed part of the product (A) (FIG.15(a)) based on product detailed information acquired from theorder-acceptance management server 11 at the time of shipping.

At step S625, the PC 25 edits the product code to generate a bar-code(B) (FIG. 15(b)) based on the product detailed information.

At step S630, the PC 25 repeats the process for the number of detailedproducts as a loop process.

At step S635, the PC 25 edits the lot, the expiration date, and theserial number to generate bar-codes (C) (FIG. 15(c)) based on theproduct detailed information.

At step S640, after having repeated the process for the number ofdetailed products, the PC 25 ends the loop process to proceed to StepS645.

At step S645, the PC 25 acquires temperature data in the designatedrange from the order-acceptance management server 11. At this time, thesecond transmission unit 55 d of the delivery unit 15 transmits aquality data request for requesting quality data to the order-acceptancemanagement server 11 by performing a quality data requesting process asneeded, to acquire temperature data being the quality data from thedatabase DB 13 via the order-acceptance management server 11 into thedelivery unit 15.

At step S645, the PC 25 may acquire the temperature data being thequality data from the data logger 39 by enlarging a memory capacity ofthe data logger 39, instead of acquiring the temperature data being thequality data from the database DB 13 via the order-acceptance managementserver 11.

At step S650, the PC 25 edits a graph (FIG. 15(d)) (D) based on theacquired temperature data.

At step S655, the PC 25 edits the quality certificate data based on theedited pieces of data (A), (B), (C), and (D), and supplies the qualitycertificate data to the printer 27, to print the quality certificate 27a (FIG. 15) by the printer 27.

Product Detailed-Information File

FIGS. 18(a) to (c) are diagrams illustrating association in a productdetailed-information file according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

The order-acceptance management server 11 extracts a status, amanagement No., and a unit type from the shipping information (FIG.7(a)) by using the unit number as a key, to generate a unit-numbermanagement file (FIG. 18(a)) in which these pieces of data areassociated with each other, and memorizes the unit-number managementfile in the database DB 13.

The order-acceptance management server 11 extracts the lot number, theexpiration date, the tag code, the unit number, and the product codefrom the shipping information (FIG. 7(a)) by using the serial number asa key, to generate a management file (FIG. 18(b)) in which these piecesof data are associated with each other, and memorizes the managementfile in the database DB 13.

The order-acceptance management server 11 acquires the productdetailed-information file from the database at the time of shipping, andtransmits the product detailed-information file to the delivery unit 15.That is, the order-acceptance management server 11 uses a unit number asa key to extract the status, the management No., and the unit type fromthe unit-number management file having the key, and extracts the lotnumber, the expiration date, the tag code, and the unit number using themanagement No. and the serial number as keys from the management file inthe similar manner, to generate a product detailed-information file(FIG. 18(c)) in which these pieces of data are associated with eachother, and memorizes the product detailed-information file in thedatabase DB 13 and also transmits the product detailed-information fileto the delivery unit 15.

According to the present embodiment, print data relating to a qualitycertificate including a graphic image representing the quality inchronological order of a cooling environment in the storage container 33accommodating articles therein during delivery is edited based on aserial number of the article and quality data and is printed on arecording medium, to create the quality certificate 27 a, therebyenabling to issue the quality certificate 27 a. Accordingly, at adelivery destination, the quality in chronological order of a coolingenvironment in the container can be confirmed immediately at the site,upon reception of the container that accommodates the articles therein.

According to the present embodiment, the quality-data generation unit 55a generates quality data of the articles based on temperature dataacquired from the memory unit 53 corresponding to a printingdate-and-time range acquired by the print-range acquisition unit 55 g.Therefore, the quality-data generation unit 55 a can issue the qualitycertificate 27 a including the graphic image representing the quality inchronological order in the range designated in the printingdate-and-time range. Accordingly, at a delivery destination, the qualityin chronological order of a cooling environment in the container can beconfirmed immediately at the site, upon reception of the container thataccommodates the articles therein.

According to the present embodiment, since the printer 27 prints animage including at least one of a lot number and a serial number of anarticle, or an expiration date of the article in addition to the serialnumber of the article on a recording medium, the quality certificate 27a associated with a specific article can be issued.

According to the present embodiment, the delivery unit 15 prints on arecording medium a graphic image representing the quality inchronological order of a cooling environment in the storage container 33that accommodates articles therein during delivery, based on the qualitydata received from the order-acceptance management server 11, to createthe quality certificate 27 a, thereby enabling to issue the qualitycertificate 27 a. Therefore, at a delivery destination, the quality inchronological order of the cooling environment in the container can beconfirmed immediately at the site, upon reception of the container thataccommodates the articles therein.

According to the present embodiment, the client terminal 5 can confirmthe quality in chronological order of the cooling environment in thestorage container 33 that accommodates the articles therein duringdelivery, based on the quality data received from the order-acceptancemanagement server 11.

Second Embodiment

A delivery unit according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention is described with reference to FIG. 19 to FIG. 21. Among thereference signs in FIG. 19 to FIG. 21, elements same as those denoted byreference signs in FIG. 15 to FIG. 17 have the same configuration asthose illustrated in FIG. 15 to FIG. 17, and thus descriptions thereofare omitted.

Quality Certificate Including Liquid Level Data

FIG. 19 are diagrams illustrating respective parts in a qualitycertificate printed by a printer of the delivery unit according to thesecond embodiment of the present invention.

When the ‘PRINT’ button B21 included in the print-range designationscreen 65 illustrated in FIG. 14 is pressed, a quality certificate 27 billustrated in FIG. 19 is printed.

As illustrated in FIG. 19, in the quality certificate 27 b, a productcode (b) such as a lot number, an expiration date, and a serial number,a bar-code (c) such as a lot number, an expiration date, and a serialnumber, a temperature graph (d), and a liquid level graph (e) arearranged as an article code.

Association of Respective Files

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating association of respective filesaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention.

The order-acceptance management server 11 acquires temperature data andliquid level data from the data logger 39 provided in the delivery unit15, adds a unit number and a date and time to the temperature data, togenerate a liquid-level history file F1.

The order-acceptance management server 11 acquires status informationupdated by the PC 25 of the delivery unit 15, to generate a trace fileF3 in which a product code, a date and time, a serial number, a unitnumber, and a status are associated with each other, as statusinformation.

The order-acceptance management server 11 uses the unit number includedin the trace file F3 as a key to extract the temperature data and theliquid level data from the liquid-level history file F1 having thesekeys to generate a serial liquid-level history file F5, and memorizesthe serial liquid-level history file F5 in the database DB 13.

Print-Data Editing Process

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a print-data editing processperformed by the PC in the delivery unit according to the secondembodiment of the present invention.

At step S745, the PC 25 acquires liquid level data in a designated rangefrom the order-acceptance management server 11. At this time, the secondtransmission unit 55 d of the delivery unit 15 transmits a quality datarequest for requesting quality data to the order-acceptance managementserver 11 by performing the quality data requesting process as needed.

At step S750, the PC 25 edits a graph (FIG. 19(e)) (E) based on theacquired liquid level data.

At step S755, the PC 25 edits the quality certificate data based on theedited pieces of data (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E) and supplies thequality certificate data to the printer 27, to print the qualitycertificate 27 b (FIG. 19) by the printer 27.

According to the present embodiment, since the quality-data generationunit 55 a generates quality data of articles based on liquid level dataacquired from the memory unit 53, the quality certificate 27 a includinga graphic image representing the quality of the liquid level data of acooling gas in chronological order can be issued. Therefore, at adelivery destination, upon reception of a container that accommodatesarticles therein, the liquid level quality of a cooling gas inchronological order relating to a cooling environment in the containercan be confirmed immediately at the site.

According to the present embodiment, since the quality-data generationunit 55 a adds a graph representing the liquid level of a cooling gas tothe quality data, based on the liquid level data acquired from thememory unit 53, the quality certificate 27 b including a graphic imagerepresenting the liquid level of the cooling gas in chronological ordercan be issued.

According to the present embodiment, since the printer 27 prints animage including at least one of a lot number and a serial number of anarticle, or an expiration date of the article in addition to a serialnumber of the article on a recording medium, the quality certificate 27b associated with a specific article can be issued.

Third Embodiment

A delivery unit according to a third embodiment of the present inventionis described with reference to FIG. 22 to FIG. 24. Among the referencesigns in FIG. 22 to FIG. 24, elements same as those denoted by referencesigns in FIG. 15 to FIG. 17 have the same configuration as thoseillustrated in FIG. 15 to FIG. 17, and thus descriptions thereof areomitted.

Quality Certificate Including Vibration Data

FIG. 22 are diagrams illustrating respective parts in a qualitycertificate printed by a printer of the delivery unit according to thethird embodiment of the present invention.

When the ‘PRINT’ button B21 included in the print-range designationscreen 65 illustrated in FIG. 14 is pressed, a quality certificate 27 cillustrated in FIG. 22 is printed.

As illustrated in FIG. 22, in the quality certificate 27 c, a productcode (b) such as a lot number, an expiration date, and a serial number,a bar-code (c) such as a lot number, an expiration date, and a serialnumber, a temperature graph (d), and a vibration graph (f) are arrangedas an article code.

Association of Respective Files

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating association of respective filesaccording to the third embodiment of the present invention.

The order-acceptance management server 11 acquires temperature data andvibration data from the data logger 39 provided in the delivery unit 15,adds a unit number and a date and time to the temperature data, togenerate a vibration history file F1.

The order-acceptance management server 11 acquires status informationupdated by the PC 25 of the delivery unit 15, to generate a trace fileF3 in which a product code, a date and time, a serial number, a unitnumber, and a status are associated with each other, as statusinformation.

The order-acceptance management server 11 uses the unit number includedin the trace file F3 as a key to extract the temperature data and thevibration data from the vibration history file F1 having these keys togenerate a serial vibration-history file F5, and memorizes the serialvibration-history file F5 in the database DB 13.

Print-Data Editing Process

FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating a print-data editing processperformed by the PC in the delivery unit according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention.

At step S845, the PC 25 acquires vibration data in a designated rangefrom the order-acceptance management server 11. At this time, the secondtransmission unit 55 d of the delivery unit 15 transmits a quality datarequest for requesting quality data to the order-acceptance managementserver 11 by performing the quality data requesting process as needed.

At step S850, the PC 25 edits a graph (FIG. 22(f)) (F) based on theacquired vibration data.

At step S855, the PC 25 edits the quality certificate data based on theedited pieces of data (A), (B), (C), (D), and (F) and supplies thequality certificate data to the printer 27, to print the qualitycertificate 27 c (FIG. 22) by the printer 27.

According to the present embodiment, since the quality-data generationunit 55 a generates quality data of articles based on vibration dataacquired from the memory unit 53, the quality certificate 27 c includinga graphic image representing the data quality of vibrations applied tothe storage container 33 in chronological order can be issued.Therefore, at a delivery destination, upon reception of a container thataccommodates articles therein, the quality of vibrations applied to thestorage container 33 in chronological order relating to a coolingenvironment in the container can be confirmed immediately at the site.

According to the present embodiment, since the quality-data generationunit 55 a adds a graph representing vibrations applied to the storagecontainer 33 from a road surface via a vehicle to the quality data,based on the vibration data acquired from the memory unit 53, thequality certificate 27 c including a graphic image representing thevibrations applied to the storage container 33 in chronological ordercan be issued.

According to the present embodiment, since the printer 27 prints animage including at least one of a lot number and a serial number of anarticle, or an expiration date of the article in addition to a serialnumber of the article on a recording medium, the quality certificate 27c associated with a specific article can be issued.

Fourth Embodiment

A delivery unit according to a fourth embodiment of the presentinvention is described with reference to FIG. 25 to FIG. 27. Among thereference signs in FIG. 25 to FIG. 27, elements same as those denoted byreference signs in FIG. 15 to FIG. 17 have the same configuration asthose illustrated in FIG. 15 to FIG. 17, and thus descriptions thereofare omitted.

Quality Certificate Including Humidity Data

FIG. 25 are diagrams illustrating respective parts in a qualitycertificate printed by a printer of the delivery unit according to thefourth embodiment of the present invention.

When the ‘PRINT’ button B21 included in the print-range designationscreen 65 illustrated in FIG. 14 is pressed, a quality certificate 27 dillustrated in FIG. 25 is printed.

As illustrated in FIG. 25, in the quality certificate 27 d, a productcode (b) such as a lot number, an expiration date, and a serial number,a bar-code (c) such as a lot number, an expiration date, and a serialnumber, a temperature graph (d), and a humidity graph (g) are arrangedas an article code.

Association of Respective Files

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating association of respective filesaccording to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

The order-acceptance management server 11 acquires temperature data andhumidity data from the data logger 39 provided in the delivery unit 15,adds a unit number and a date and time to the temperature data, togenerate a temperature history file F1.

The order-acceptance management server 11 acquires status informationupdated by the PC 25 of the delivery unit 15, to generate a trace fileF3 in which a product code, a date and time, a serial number, a unitnumber, and a status are associated with each other, as statusinformation.

The order-acceptance management server 11 uses the unit number includedin the trace file F3 as a key to extract the temperature data and thehumidity data from the temperature history file F1 having these keys togenerate a serial temperature-history file F5, and memorizes the serialtemperature-history file F5 in the database DB 13.

Print-Data Editing Process

FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating a print-data editing processperformed by the PC in the delivery unit according to the fourthembodiment of the present invention.

At step S945, the PC 25 acquires humidity data in a designated rangefrom the order-acceptance management server 11. At this time, the secondtransmission unit 55 d of the delivery unit 15 transmits a quality datarequest for requesting quality data to the order-acceptance managementserver 11 by performing the quality data requesting process as needed.

At step S950, the PC 25 edits a graph (FIG. 25(g)) (G) based on theacquired humidity data.

At step S955, the PC 25 edits the quality certificate data based on theedited pieces of data (A), (B), (C), (D), and (G) and supplies thequality certificate data to the printer 27, to print the qualitycertificate 27 d (FIG. 25) by the printer 27.

According to the present embodiment, since the quality-data generationunit 55 a generates quality data of articles based on the humidity dataacquired from the memory unit 53, a quality certificate 27 d including agraphic image representing the quality of the humidity data in thestorage container 33 in chronological order can be issued. Therefore, ata delivery destination, upon reception of a container that accommodatesarticles therein, the humidity quality in the storage container 33 inchronological order relating to a cooling environment in the containercan be confirmed immediately at the site.

According to the present embodiment, since the quality-data generationunit 55 a adds a graph representing the humidity in the storagecontainer 33 to the quality data, based on the humidity data acquiredfrom the memory unit 53, the quality certificate 27 d including agraphic image representing the humidity in the storage container 33 inchronological order can be issued.

According to the present embodiment, since the printer 27 prints animage including at least one of a lot number and a serial number of anarticle, or an expiration date of the article in addition to a serialnumber of the article on a recording medium, the quality certificate 27d associated with a specific article can be issued.

Fifth Embodiment

A delivery unit according to a fifth embodiment of the present inventionis described with reference to FIG. 28 to FIG. 30. Among the referencesigns in FIG. 28 to FIG. 30, elements same as those denoted by referencesigns in FIG. 15 to FIG. 17 have the same configuration as thoseillustrated in FIG. 15 to FIG. 17, and thus descriptions thereof areomitted.

Quality Certificate Including Opened/Closed State Data

FIG. 28 are diagrams illustrating respective parts in a qualitycertificate printed by a printer of the delivery unit according to thefifth embodiment of the present invention.

When the ‘PRINT’ button B21 included in the print-range designationscreen 65 illustrated in FIG. 14 is pressed, a quality certificate 27 eillustrated in FIG. 28 is printed.

As illustrated in FIG. 28, in the quality certificate 27 e, a productcode (b) such as a lot number, an expiration date, and a serial number,a bar-code (c) such as a lot number, an expiration date, and a serialnumber, a temperature graph (d), and an opened/closed state graph (h)are arranged as an article code.

In the opened/closed state graph (h) illustrated in FIG. 28, there issuch a tendency that as the measurement time becomes longer, a linesegment indicating an opened state becomes thinner. However, in anactual opened/closed state graph, needless to mention, the opened stateis in a rectangular waveform as illustrated in FIG. 31(h).

Association of Respective Files

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating association of respective filesaccording to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

The order-acceptance management server 11 acquires temperature data andopened/closed state data from the data logger 39 provided in thedelivery unit 15, adds a unit number and a date and time to thetemperature data, to generate a temperature history file F1.

The order-acceptance management server 11 acquires status informationupdated by the PC 25 of the delivery unit 15, to generate a trace fileF3 in which a product code, a date and time, a serial number, a unitnumber, and a status are associated with each other, as statusinformation.

The order-acceptance management server 11 uses the unit number includedin the trace file F3 as a key to extract the temperature data and theopened/closed state data from the temperature history file F1 havingthese keys to generate a serial temperature-history file F5, andmemorizes the serial temperature-history file F5 in the database DB 13.

Print-Data Editing Process

FIG. 30 is a flowchart illustrating a print-data editing processperformed by the PC in the delivery unit according to the fifthembodiment of the present invention.

At step S1045, the PC 25 acquires opened/closed state data in adesignated range from the order-acceptance management server 11. At thistime, the second transmission unit 55 d of the delivery unit 15transmits a quality data request for requesting quality data to theorder-acceptance management server 11 by performing the quality datarequesting process as needed.

At step S1050, the PC 25 edits a graph (FIG. 28(h)) (G) based on theacquired opened/closed state data.

At step S1055, the PC 25 edits the quality certificate data based on theedited pieces of data (A), (B), (C), (D), and (H) and supplies thequality certificate data to the printer 27, to print the qualitycertificate 27 e (FIG. 28) by the printer 27.

According to the present embodiment, since the quality-data generationunit 55 a adds opened/closed state data of a lid acquired from thememory unit 53 to quality data of articles, the quality certificate 27 aincluding a graphic image representing the quality of the opened/closedstate data of the lid provided in the storage container 33 inchronological order can be issued. Therefore, at a delivery destination,upon reception of a container that accommodates articles therein, theopened/closed state of the lid and the temperature quality inchronological order of a cooling environment in the container can beconfirmed immediately at the site.

According to the present embodiment, since the quality-data generationunit 55 a adds opened/closed state data of a lid acquired from thememory unit 53 to the graph representing the temperature in the storagecontainer 33, to generate quality data, the quality certificate 27 aincluding a graphic image representing the opened/closed state of thelid of the storage container 33 in chronological order can be issued.

According to the present embodiment, since the printer 27 prints animage including at least one of a lot number and a serial number of anarticle, or an expiration date of the article in addition to a serialnumber of the article on a recording medium, the quality certificate 27a associated with a specific article can be issued.

Sixth Embodiment

A delivery unit according to a sixth embodiment of the present inventionis described with reference to FIG. 31 to FIG. 33. Among the referencesigns in FIG. 31 to FIG. 33, elements same as those denoted by referencesigns in FIG. 15 to FIG. 17 have the same configuration as thoseillustrated in FIG. 15 to FIG. 17, and thus descriptions thereof areomitted.

Quality Certificate Including Data Group

FIG. 31 are diagrams illustrating respective parts in a qualitycertificate printed by a printer of the delivery unit according to thesixth embodiment of the present invention.

When the ‘PRINT’ button B21 included in the print-range designationscreen 65 illustrated in FIG. 14 is pressed, a quality certificate 27 fillustrated in FIG. 31 is printed.

As illustrated in FIG. 31, in the quality certificate 27 f, a productcode (b) such as a lot number, an expiration date, and a serial number,a bar-code (c) such as a lot number, an expiration date, and a serialnumber, and a graph group (I) are arranged as an article code.

The graph group (I) includes a temperature graph, a liquid level graph,a vibration graph, a humidity graph, and an opened/closed state graph.

Association of Respective Files

FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating association of respective filesaccording to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

The order-acceptance management server 11 acquires temperature data,liquid level data, vibration data, humidity data, and opened/closedstate data from the data logger 39 provided in the delivery unit 15,adds a unit number and a date and time to a data group, to generate atemperature history file F1.

The order-acceptance management server 11 acquires status informationupdated by the PC 25 of the delivery unit 15, to generate a trace fileF3 in which a product code, a date and time, a serial number, a unitnumber, and a status are associated with each other, as statusinformation.

The order-acceptance management server 11 uses the unit number includedin the trace file F3 as a key to extract the temperature data, theliquid level data, the vibration data, the humidity data, and theopened/closed state data from the temperature history file F1 havingthese keys to generate a serial temperature-history file F5, andmemorizes the serial temperature-history file F5 in the database DB 13.

Print-Data Editing Process

FIG. 33 is a flowchart illustrating a print-data editing processperformed by the PC in the delivery unit according to the sixthembodiment of the present invention.

At step S1145, the PC 25 acquires temperature data, liquid level data,vibration data, humidity data, and opened/closed state data in adesignated range from the order-acceptance management server 11. At thistime, the second transmission unit 55 d of the delivery unit 15transmits a quality data request for requesting quality data to theorder-acceptance management server 11 by performing the quality datarequesting process as needed.

At step S1150, the PC 25 edits a graph group (FIG. 31(i)) (I) based onthe acquired temperature data, liquid level data, vibration data,humidity data, and opened/closed state data.

At step S1155, the PC 25 edits the quality certificate data based on theedited pieces of data (A), (B), (C), and (I) and supplies the qualitycertificate data to the printer 27, to print the quality certificate 27f (FIG. 31) by the printer 27. On the quality certificate 27 f, atemperature graph, a liquid level graph, a vibration graph, a humidityfile, and an opened/closed state graph are printed as the graph group(I).

According to the present embodiment, since the quality-data generationunit 55 a adds liquid level data, vibration data, humidity data, andopened/closed state data to temperature data, the quality certificate 27f including respective graphic images in chronological order can beissued. Therefore, at a delivery destination, upon reception of acontainer that accommodates articles therein, the quality inchronological order of a cooling environment in the container can beconfirmed immediately at the site.

According to the present embodiment, since the quality-data generationunit 55 a sets temperature data, liquid level data, vibration data,humidity data, and opened/closed state data as quality data, the qualitycertificate 27 a including the respective graphic images inchronological order can be issued.

According to the present embodiment, since the printer 27 prints animage including at least one of a lot number and a serial number of anarticle, or an expiration date of the article in addition to a serialnumber of the article on a recording medium, the quality certificate 27a associated with a specific article can be issued.

Modification

In the first to sixth embodiments, it is configured such that pieces ofdata such as temperature data, liquid level data, vibration data,humidity data, and opened/closed state data collected by the deliveryunit 15 are once accumulated in the database DB 13 via theorder-acceptance management server 11, the delivery unit 15 transmits aquality data request to the order-acceptance management server 11 asneeded, and after the delivery unit 15 has acquired the data from thedatabase DB 13, a quality certificate is printed. However, the presentinvention is not limited to such case.

That is, as a modification of the present invention, it can beconfigured such that a hard disk HDD is provided in the delivery unit15, temperature data, liquid level data, vibration data, humidity data,and opened/closed state data collected by the delivery unit 15 are onceaccumulated in the hard disk HDD, and after the data is acquired fromthe hard disk HDD as needed, a quality certificate is printed.

Summary of Actions and Effects of Aspects in the Present EmbodimentFirst Aspect

The delivery unit 15 of the present aspect is the delivery unit 15mounted on the vehicle 21, and is used at the time of accommodatingarticles in the storage container 33 filled with a cooling gas anddelivering the articles. The delivery unit 15 is characterized byincluding the thermometer Se1 that measures a temperature in the storagecontainer 33, the memory unit 53 that memorizes the measured temperaturedata in chronological order, the quality-data generation unit 55 a thatgenerates quality data of articles based on the temperature dataacquired from the memory unit 53, the print-data editing unit 55 h thatedits print data relating to a quality certificate including a graphicimage representing the quality in chronological order of a coolingenvironment in the storage container 33 accommodating articles thereinduring delivery, based on a serial number of the article and qualitydata, and the printer 27 that prints print data relating to the qualitycertificate on a recording medium.

According to the present aspect, the print data relating to the qualitycertificate including the graphic image representing the quality inchronological order of the cooling environment in the storage container33 accommodating articles therein during delivery is edited based on theserial number of the article and the quality data, and is printed on therecording medium to create the quality certificate 27 a, therebyenabling to issue the quality certificate 27 a. Therefore, at a deliverydestination, upon reception of the container that accommodates articlestherein, the quality in chronological order of the cooling environmentin the container can be immediately confirmed at the site.

Second Aspect

The delivery unit 15 according to the present aspect is characterized byincluding the display input unit 55 f that displays a printing startdate-and-time column and a printing end date-and-time column promptinginput of a printing date-and-time range relating to temperature data tobe printed on the quality certificate 27 a, and the print-rangeacquisition unit 55 g that acquires a printing date-and-time rangerepresented by the printing start date-and-time and the printing enddate-and-time displayed on the display input unit 55 f. The quality-datageneration unit 55 a generates quality data of the articles based on thetemperature data acquired from the memory unit 53 corresponding to theprinting date-and-time range acquired by the print-range acquisitionunit 55 g.

According to the present aspect, the quality-data generation unit 55 acan issue the quality certificate 27 a including a graphic imagerepresenting the quality in chronological order of the range designatedby the printing date-and-time range, by generating the quality data ofthe articles based on the temperature data acquired from the memory unit53 corresponding to the printing date-and-time range acquired by theprint-range acquisition unit 55 g. Therefore, at a delivery destination,upon reception of a container that accommodates articles therein, thequality in chronological order of a cooling environment in the containercan be confirmed immediately at the site.

Third Aspect

The delivery unit 15 according to the present aspect is characterized byincluding the liquid level indicator Se2 that measures a liquid level ofa cooling gas filled in the storage container 33, in which the memoryunit 53 memorizes therein the measured liquid level in chronologicalorder, and the quality-data generation unit 55 a generates quality dataof the articles based on the liquid level data acquired from the memoryunit 53.

According to the present aspect, the quality-data generation unit 55 agenerates the quality data of the articles based on the liquid leveldata acquired from the memory unit 53, thereby enabling to issue thequality certificate 27 a including a graphic image representing thequality of the liquid level data of the cooling gas in chronologicalorder. Therefore, at a delivery destination, upon reception of acontainer that accommodates articles therein, the quality of the liquidlevel of the cooling gas in chronological order relating to a coolingenvironment in the container can be immediately confirmed at the site.

Fourth Aspect

The quality-data generation unit 55 a according to the present aspect ischaracterized by adding a graph representing the liquid level of acooling gas to quality data based on liquid level data acquired from thememory unit 53.

According to the present aspect, the quality-data generation unit 55 aadds the graph representing the liquid level of the cooling gas to thequality data based on the liquid level data acquired from the memoryunit 53, thereby enabling to issue the quality certificate 27 aincluding a graphic image representing the liquid level of the coolinggas in chronological order.

Fifth Aspect

The delivery unit 15 according to the present aspect is characterized byincluding the vibration indicator Se3 that measures vibrations appliedto the storage container 33 from a road surface via a vehicle, in whichthe memory unit 53 memorizes therein measured vibration data inchronological order, and the quality-data generation unit 55 a generatesquality data of articles based on the vibration data acquired from thememory unit 53.

According to the present aspect, the quality-data generation unit 55 agenerates the quality data of the articles based on the vibration dataacquired from the memory unit 53, thereby enabling to issue the qualitycertificate 27 a including a graphic image representing the quality ofthe vibration data applied to the storage container 33 in chronologicalorder. Therefore, at a delivery destination, upon reception of acontainer that accommodates articles therein, the quality of vibrationsapplied to the storage container 33 in chronological order relating to acooling environment in the container can be immediately confirmed at thesite.

Sixth Aspect

The quality-data generation unit 55 a according to the present aspect ischaracterized by adding a graph representing vibrations applied to thestorage container 33 from a road surface via a vehicle to quality databased on vibration data acquired from the memory unit 53.

According to the present aspect, the quality-data generation unit 55 aadds the graph representing vibrations applied to the storage container33 from the road surface via the vehicle to the quality data based onthe vibration data acquired from the memory unit 53, thereby enabling toissue the quality certificate 27 a including a graphic imagerepresenting vibrations applied to the storage container 33 inchronological order.

Seventh Aspect

The delivery unit 15 according to the present aspect is characterized byincluding the hygrometer Se5 that measures a humidity in the storagecontainer 33, in which the memory unit 53 memorizes therein measuredhumidity data in chronological order, and the quality-data generationunit 55 a generates quality data of articles based on the humidity dataacquired from the memory unit 53.

According to the present aspect, the quality-data generation unit 55 agenerates the quality data of articles based on the humidity dataacquired from the memory unit 53, thereby enabling to issue the qualitycertificate 27 a including a graphic image representing the quality ofhumidity data in the storage container 33 in chronological order.Therefore, at a delivery destination, upon reception of a container thataccommodates articles therein, the quality of humidity in the storagecontainer 33 in chronological order relating to a cooling environment inthe container can be immediately confirmed at the site.

Eighth Aspect

The quality-data generation unit 55 a according to the present aspect ischaracterized by adding a graph representing the humidity in the storagecontainer 33 to quality data based on humidity data acquired from thememory unit 53.

According to the present aspect, the quality-data generation unit 55 aadds the graph representing the humidity in the storage container 33 tothe quality data based on the humidity data acquired from the memoryunit 53, thereby enabling to issue the quality certificate 27 aincluding a graphic image representing the humidity in the storagecontainer 33 in chronological order.

Ninth Aspect

The delivery unit 15 according to the present aspect is characterized byincluding the opening/closing sensor Se4 that measures an opened/closedstate of a lid provided in the storage container 33, in which the memoryunit 53 memorizes therein detected opened/closed state data of the lidin chronological order, and the quality-data generation unit 55 a addsthe opened/closed state data of the lid acquired from the memory unit 53to quality data of articles.

According to the present aspect, the quality-data generation unit 55 aadds the opened/closed state data of the lid acquired from the memoryunit 53 to the quality data of the articles, thereby enabling to issuethe quality certificate 27 a including a graphic image representing thequality of the opened/closed state of the lid provided in the storagecontainer 33 in chronological order. Therefore, at a deliverydestination, upon reception of a container that accommodates articlestherein, the opened/closed state of the lid and the temperature qualityin chronological order relating to a cooling environment in thecontainer can be immediately confirmed at the site.

Tenth Aspect

The quality-data generation unit 55 a according to the present aspectadds opened/closed state data of a lid acquired from the memory unit 53to a graph representing the humidity in the storage container 33, togenerate quality data.

According to the present aspect, the quality-data generation unit 55 aadds the opened/closed state data of the lid acquired from the memoryunit 53 to a graph representing the temperature in the storage container33 to generate quality data, thereby enabling to issue the qualitycertificate 27 a including a graphic image representing the humidity,together with a graphic image representing the opened/closed state ofthe lid of the storage container 33 in chronological order.

Eleventh Aspect

The printer 27 according to the present aspect is characterized in thatan image including at least one of a lot number and a serial number ofan article, or an expiration date of the article is printed on arecording medium in addition to a serial number of the article.

According to the present aspect, the printer 27 prints an imageincluding at least one of a lot number and a serial number of anarticle, or an expiration date of the article on the recording medium,in addition to a serial number of the article, thereby enabling to issuethe quality certificate 27 a relating to a specific article.

Twelfth Aspect

The delivery system 1 according to the present aspect is the deliverysystem 1 including the delivery unit 15 according to any one of thefirst to eleventh aspects, and the order-acceptance management server11. The delivery unit 15 includes the first transmission unit 55 c thattransmits quality data generated by the quality-data generation unit 55a to the order-acceptance management server 11, the second transmissionunit 55 d that transmits a quality data request to the order-acceptancemanagement server 11 as needed, and the first reception unit 55 e thatreceives quality data from the order-acceptance management server 11.The order-acceptance management server 11 includes the second receptionunit 11 b that receives quality data from the delivery unit 15, thedatabase DB 13 that accumulates therein pieces of quality data receivedfrom the delivery unit 15, and the third transmission unit 11 a thattransmits quality data acquired from the database DB 13 to the deliveryunit 15, upon reception of a quality data request from the delivery unit15.

According to the present aspect, the delivery unit 15 prints a graphicimage representing the quality in chronological order of a coolingenvironment in the storage container 33 that accommodates articlestherein during delivery, based on the quality data received from theorder-acceptance management server 11 on a recording medium to createthe quality certificate 27 a, thereby enabling to issue the qualitycertificate 27 a. Therefore, at a delivery destination, upon receptionof a container that accommodates the articles therein, the quality inchronological order of a cooling environment in the container can beimmediately confirmed at the site.

Thirteenth Aspect

The delivery system 1 according to the present aspect includes theclient terminal 5. The order-acceptance management server 11 includesthe fourth transmission unit 11 c that transmits quality data acquiredfrom the database DB 13 to the client terminal 5, upon reception of aquality data request from the client terminal 5. The client terminal 5includes the fifth transmission unit 5 a that transmits a quality datarequest to the order-acceptance management server 11 as needed, and thethird reception unit 5 b that receives quality data from theorder-acceptance management server 11.

According to the present aspect, the client terminal 5 can confirm thequality in chronological order of a cooling environment in the storagecontainer 33 that accommodates articles therein during delivery based onthe quality data from the order-acceptance management server 11.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

1 delivery system, 5 client terminal, 5 a fifth transmission unit, 5 bthird reception unit, 11 order-acceptance management server 11 a thirdtransmission unit, 11 b second reception unit, 11 c fourth transmissionunit, 13 database DB, 15 delivery unit, 21 vehicle, 27 printer, 27 aquality certificate, 33 storage container, 39 data logger, 53 memoryunit, 55 a quality-data generation unit, 55 c first transmission unit,55 d second transmission unit, 55 e first reception unit, 55 f displayinput unit, 55 g print-range acquisition unit, 55 h print-data editingunit, Se1 thermometer, Se2 liquid level indicator, Se3 vibrationindicator, Se4 opening/closing sensor, Se5 hygrometer, Se6 voltagedetection sensor, Se7 voltage detection sensor, N1 to N3 network.

1. A delivery unit mounted on a vehicle and is used when articles areaccommodated in a container filled with a cooling gas and delivered, thedelivery unit comprising: a temperature measurement unit that measures atemperature in the container; a memory unit that memorizes therein dataof the temperature measured by the temperature measurement unit inchronological order; a quality-data generation unit that generatesquality data of the articles based on temperature data acquired from thememory unit; a print-data editing unit that edits print data relating toa quality certificate including a graphic image representing quality inchronological order of a cooling environment in a container thataccommodates articles therein during delivery, based on a serial numberof the article and the quality data; and a printing unit that printsprint data relating to the quality certificate on a recording medium. 2.The delivery unit according to claim 1, further comprising: a displayunit that displays a printing start date-and-time column and a printingend date-and-time column prompting input of a printing date-and-timerange associated with temperature data to be printed on the qualitycertificate; and a print-range acquisition unit that acquires printingdate-and-time range represented by a printing start date-and-time and aprinting end date-and-time displayed on the display unit, wherein thequality-data generation unit generates quality data of the articlesbased on temperature data acquired from the memory unit corresponding toprinting date-and-time range acquired from the print-range acquisitionunit.
 3. The delivery unit according to claim 1, further comprising aliquid-level measurement unit that measures a liquid level of a coolinggas filled in the container, wherein the memory unit memorizes thereindata of the liquid level measured by the liquid-level measurement unitin chronological order, and the quality-data generation unit generatesquality data of the articles based on liquid level data acquired fromthe memory unit.
 4. The delivery unit according to claim 3, wherein thequality-data generation unit adds a graph representing a liquid level ofthe cooling gas to the quality data based on liquid level data acquiredfrom the memory unit.
 5. The delivery unit according to claim 1, furthercomprising a vibration measurement unit that measures vibrations appliedto the container from a road surface via the vehicle, wherein the memoryunit memorizes therein data of the measured vibrations in chronologicalorder, and the quality-data generation unit generates quality data ofthe articles based on vibration data acquired from the memory unit. 6.The delivery unit according to claim 5, wherein the quality-datageneration unit adds a graph representing vibrations applied to thecontainer from a road surface via the vehicle to the quality data basedon vibration data acquired from the memory unit.
 7. The delivery unitaccording to claim 1, further comprising a humidity measurement unitthat measures a humidity in the container, wherein the memory unitmemorizes therein data of the humidity measured by the humiditymeasurement unit in chronological order, and the quality-data generationunit generates quality data of the articles based on humidity dataacquired from the memory unit.
 8. The delivery unit according to claim7, wherein the quality-data generation unit adds a graph representing ahumidity in the container to the quality data based on humidity dataacquired from the memory unit.
 9. The delivery unit according to claim1, further comprising an opening/closing measurement unit that measuresan opened/closed state of a lid provided in the container, wherein thememory unit memorizes therein data of the opened/closed state of the liddetected by the opening/closing measurement unit in chronological order,and the quality-data generation unit adds opened/closed state data ofthe lid acquired from the memory unit to the quality data of thearticles.
 10. The delivery unit according to claim 9, wherein thequality-data generation unit adds opened/closed state data of a lidacquired from the memory unit to a graph representing a temperature inthe container, to generate the quality data.
 11. The delivery unitaccording to claim 1, wherein the printing unit prints an imageincluding at least one of a lot number and a serial number of thearticle, or an expiration date of the article in addition to a serialnumber of the article, on the recording medium.
 12. A delivery systemcomprising: the delivery unit according to claim 1; and a server,wherein the delivery unit includes a first transmission unit thattransmits quality data generated by the quality-data generation unit tothe server, a second transmission unit that transmits a quality datarequest to the server as needed, and a first reception unit thatreceives quality data from the server, and the server includes a secondreception unit that receives quality data from the delivery unit, anaccumulation unit that accumulates therein pieces of quality datareceived from the delivery unit, and a third transmission unit thattransmits quality data acquired from the accumulation unit to thedelivery unit, upon reception of a quality data request from thedelivery unit.
 13. The delivery system according to claim 12, comprisinga terminal, wherein the server includes a fourth transmission unit thattransmits quality data acquired from the accumulation unit to theterminal, upon reception of a quality data request from the terminal,and the terminal includes a fifth transmission unit that transmits aquality data request to the server as needed, and a third reception unitthat receives quality data from the server.